Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that the Al-Muraykh ran aground this morning in the SUez Canal while on, however the vessel has now been refloated and the canal has reopened, said a company spokeswoman.
Al-Muraykh was stranded for over five hours and had blocked all traffic on the canal as a consequence. A Hapag-Lloyd spokeswoman told Container News, the vessel “will drop anchor at open anchorage to perform a brief inspection. It has received approval from class, though to continue its voyage. Class inspection will be done in the next port.”
Earlier unconfirmed reports said that movements on the Suez Canal have been blocked following the grounding of the 18,800TEU Al-Muraykh, ex-UASC, now Hapag-Lloyd.
The reports suggest the the 400m long vessel was beached while the vessel was heading south in convoy on the canal, near the 86km mark, close to the TOUSN monitoring station.
Other southbound vessels are stacking up behind Al-Muraykh as a result of the incident.
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor
